A/N: This is a story that I'd been thinking about since I wrote my entire list of RC stories to write. This is just one of a long list.
Disclaimer: Ratchet and Clank belongs to the geniuses that are Insomniac. I am merely a devotee.^_^
"Ratchet?"
A loud "clang" followed by pained groans ensued.
Clank looked at the ball of fur writhing in pain on the floor. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to sneak up on him like that – especially since he was asleep under the ship he'd been working on the night before.
Come to think of it, Ratchet had mentioned upgrading their ship with a carbonic thruster some time before...
After the lombax was done rolling on the floor, he rolled out from under the ship.
"Good morning, Ratchet."
" 'Morning..." was the pained reply.
The pair were in a small garage in Clank's apartment in Megapolis. They'd been living here since the Protopet-episode.
Back to the topic at hand.
"Do you remember what today is?"
Ratchet stopped rubbing his head at the question. "... No..."
Clank sighed and pointed to a wall calendar. The day's date was circled.
"Today is the day of the Robo-Chef convention." Clank stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh..."
Ratchet had nearly forgotten about that – even though Clank had reminded him every day for the past month. Ratchet smiled at the memory. Clank had been excited about the convention ever since he first heard about it a month ago. More excited than since he got that offer for the 'Secret Agent Clank' holo-show. It was strange seeing Clank so excited. Unnerving, really.
By the time Ratchet had finished his flashback, Clank had picked up a pre-packed bag (of course he would have packed it the night before) and looked at Ratchet.
"I'll need to be going now."
Ratchet looked at the time. "I guess you're right. Have fun, buddy." He smiled.
"I will be back by tonight."
"Ok, see you then."
Clank nodded and, with a spring in his step (maybe because Ratchet had upped his suspension), walked toward the in-house teleporter. In a flash of light, Clank was on his way to the Robo-Chef convention .
Ratchet was bored.
It had only been a couple of hours since Clank left. He had finished installing the carbonic thruster. Now the ship would be insanely fast.
Ratchet got up from the couch. Maybe he'd take the ship for a spin and test out the new thruster. He wouldn't be able to do that once Clank came back. He'd never allow him to hit speeds like that. But since he wasn't here...
Hey, wait. Clank wasn't here. That meant that he could do all the things Clank wouldn't let him do.
Ratchet smiled evilly.
Now the fun would begin.
Vukovar Canyon.
A place famous for its deep gorges and scenic view. People come from all over the Galaxy just to see it, despite the Gagetron 'Hounds of Death'.
It's also one of the best hoverbiking locations in Bogon.
"WOOHOO!"
Ratchet yelled in exhilaration as he drove up an almost vertical wall. No doubt, one slip up and he'd be skewered by the surrounding jagged rocks.
The bike flew over the edge and landed with a thud, along with two other racers. Sparks flew as the bike bodies clashed, sending both in opposite directions.
"Take that, ya losers!" Ratchet shouted as he sped off at breakneck speeds.
Another racer was approaching from behind. He came up to Ratchet's speed and tried to knock him off course. These guys weren't kidding in this race.
WHAM!
Ratchet's superior manoeuvring saved him from probable death, sending his opponent crashing into a boulder. Hoverbike parts and debris flew in all directions, narrowly missing Ratchet's head and hitting the guy in front instead.
'Ouch... that's gotta hurt'
A loud buzzer sounded as Ratchet crossed the finish line.
"Yeah! First place!" he yelled as he hopped out the hoverbike.
'But still so much more to do...'
"Wanna getta mod?"
Ratchet's ears perked up at 'mod'. That was just what he'd been looking for. Well, one of the things he'd been looking for. Luckily, the Notak Black Market had all those things.
He turned to the shopkeeper who had caught his attention. He looked vaguely familiar.
"Yeah, whaddaya got?"
"What'ya lookin' for?"
"RYNO-II"
The shopkeeper whistled, impressed.
"Gagetron, eh? Let's see here..." He disappeared behind a box and then, after some time, reappeared holding a black box. It was no bigger than his palm. "Well today's your lucky day. This here's an FG-638. I'll charge a million and a half. Fair price, eh?"
Ratchet had read about that one. It was hard to find, even in the Black Market. But it was powerful. It modified the missile launcher with and an electric charge power enough to cook an enemy from the inside out.
But he couldn't give in. Ratchet put on his best haggling face. "I dunno..."
"Cummon. They don't even sell these here. You should consider yourself lucky to get it so cheap."
"I read somewhere you can get it for ninety grand."
The shopkeeper frowned. This guy wasn't a pushover. But any Black Market dealer knows how to deal with his kind.
"I'll tell you what. I'll make you a deal. I'll make this here mod a million, with a cryo-mod for twenty grand. Good quality, of course. Megacorp. What'ya say?"
Ratchet gave in. Nobody could refuse a deal like that. Good cryo-mods cost at least fifty thousand in the Market. To get one at such a throwaway price...
"Done." The lombax replied and paid the due amount.
The next two hours were spent in a similar manner, buying mods and thrusters, ionic coils and a strip of iso-magnetic tape.
Total bill = 20,000,000 bolts.
Ratchet adjusted his angle.
If he had calculated his trajectory right (and hopefully he did), then he would be shot by this catapult onto that almost-vertical grind rail. Then he would go down the rail at full speed and, by the time it ends (after many loops and jumps) he would have gathered enough momentum to be thrown off at the end, so he could latch onto the iso-magnetic tape – which was tied to the roof near the open front door of the apartment. The tape was like zip line, winding through the apartment. It ended just above the couch in the living room, in such a way that Ratchet would land on the HV (holo-vision) remote and turn the HV on.
(A/N: it took me a week just to think this entire thing up T_T)
"Let's do this!" Ratchet yelled as he pulled the cord.
"Woohoo!"
Ratchet flew threw the air and made a perfect landing onto the grind rail. Flip. Jump. Duck. Swerve. He dodged all the obstacles as if he'd been doing it all his life. Well... because he had been doing it all his life...
Ratchet was almost at the end of the rail. 'Prepare yourself.' "And JUMP!" Once again, he was airborne, heading straight toward the zip line. Timing it just right, Ratchet snapped he wrench over the iso-magnetic tape and grabbed onto the other end with his other hand. (A/N: a pose we all know ^_^)
It was surprising that Ratchet even made it this far. Everything was going according to plan – well, except for the knocking over an antique vase...
It was just about the end of the course. Ratchet prepared himself to let go...
SNAP!
Uh oh... that couldn't sound good...
It was close to midnight when Clank got home from the Robo-Chef convention. He had had a good time there. What could be more fun that watching cooking demonstration after cooking demonstration?
But, even so, the day had been tiring for the robot. Clank walked into the kitchen and grabbed something to drink. The entire house was dark.
'I wonder where Ratchet is...' He suspected that he had gotten into some trouble.
He hadn't seen the lombax since he had left. He had expected him to jump up and welcome him. Well, it was nearly midnight. Maybe he was asleep...
Thinking that, Clank walked out of the kitchen into the living room. The sight he was met with confirmed his suspicions.
Ratchet was dangling from the ceiling by one foot, entangled in... what looked like a tape of some sort. Iso-magnetic tape, to be exact.
The lombax's guilty green eyes met his own.
"I can explain..."
A/N: Boy, am I glad I got this one finished. It was a five-page document on Open Office o_O. Probably the longest I've ever written. Reviews are appreciated, of course. I hope I got Clank right in this one...